The Wolf and the Hunter
by Gemralts the Writer-Wolf of FF
Summary: Holo was just another young wolf living in Yoitsu. What happens when she meets a hunter like she has never seen before? Will she kill him? Probably not, but find out what really happens!
1. Chapter 1

Gemralts: Hey! Gemralts here! Back with another—

Prim: Incomplete story ..

Gemralts: No, I will finish this one! You will see.

Prim: Sure, sure...

Gemralts: Anyways, Malik is Vladimier Norton's OC (Check out his story.). And here's a surprise, I don't own Spice and Wolf.

* * *

The lone hunter stalked her prey, hidden within the thick undergrowth of the forest. Daytime was not the best of times to go hunting, yet the skilled hunter was able to follow her prey without notice. Only the chirping of the birds and rushing of the nearby stream was heard during this time; the hunter instinctively knew not to make a sound.

Carefully, as if mere thoughts would give her location away, the hunter thought, "This might be my biggest triumph yet. Even the 'wise-wolf' Holo will be jealous of my greatness." She waved her gray tail in glee. Suddenly, the prey looked back, leaving the wolf only a fraction of a second to react. Of course, the hunter easily hid herself from view. The prey became worried, though, and started to move faster. For any other hunter, this would prove a challenge, but the wolf silently ran after her prey.

The prey stopped. "Who's there? I'm armed and highly trained in fighting."

"Pitiful," the huntress thought, noting the fear in her victim's voice, "I thought this one would put up more of a fight." Deciding to have a little fun, the wolf shook the bush slightly, enough to make the human check. Once he did, the wolf sneaked into another bush and making her new location known.

This cruel game wore down on the human's sanity. With more fear than before, he said, "Come out from wherever you are hiding." Only the sound of the stream answered him. Out of desperation, the human used his sword to massacre the helpless bushes. The hunter, needless to say, was not hurt. Instead, her prey's woeful act of strength only increased her enjoyment in the hunt.

The hunter thought, "Enough of this, I must kill him now before I end up as weak as Holo." Without any warning, the wolf pounced her prey. Despite being the same size as a regular wolf, the hunter still sparked fear within her prey. "Boo," she thought to herself, inwardly laughing at the scared look on the human's face. Wishing to have more fun, the hunter gave her prey a chance to defend himself.

When the human gathered his wits, he took a sloppy stance and held his sword defensively in front of him. "You're just a wolf," he tried to calm himself, "Just a wolf." The hunter only laughed. Pouncing once again, the wolf bit the man's wrist, making him drop his sword immediately. With no defense at all, the prey tried to run away.

"There's no use running from Aayai, the Master Hunter of Yoitsu!" she yelled, knocking her prey down before he had a chance to escape. The prey began begging the wolf for mercy. Luckily for Aayai's soon-to-be kill, she was thoroughly amused by their little game. With her single act of kindness, the hunter snapped her prey's neck, killing him instantly. "Oof, I have to carry you back home, now, do I not?"

"Stop that Prim!" Holo yelled, "We are supposed to act with dignity, are we not?"

"Oh c'mon, Holo! Have some fun. Just because you call yourself 'wise-wolf' doesn't mean you have to be so boring!" The white wolf went back to chasing birds into trees. Distracting her from the birds, though, was a white object in the corner of her vision. Seeing this new adversary, Prim chased said white object in circles.

" 'Tis your tail, Prim. You are making yourself look like a common dog," the other wolf complained.

"Humph, you sound just like those older wolves. C'mon, we're still young! Let's do stuff!" Prim said, doing a flip.

Aayai walked into the clearing the two were in. "Holo, Prim, would you like to share my latest kill."

"Is that a human?" Prim asked in disgust, looking at the already rotting body. "Please, don't tell me you killed a human."

"Yep, I killed a human, my greatest feat so far," the gray wolf boasted. The smell of dead flesh, imagined or not, overwhelmed Prim's senses. Prim could not stand to be in the clearing anymore and started to walk away. "Where are you going, Prim? I always knew you were weak," Aayai mocked, "You know what they say, hunt or be hunted."

"But... humans aren't like another other prey. They have strong emotions and thoughts. They are more like us than a regular wolf is," Prim said.

Aayai laughed. "I have seen the humans myself. They may tell themselves they are noble, but they are cowards at heart. They are weak and therefore should be hunted like another other animal."

Prim tried to say something back but could not, instead, she left the clearing speechless. Holo said nothing and did not think of her friend, Prim. The 'wise-wolf', after all, believed she was the best hunter in the group and should always catch the biggest game. "I guess you will be stuck with killing rabbits, Holo."

"Humph, I am Holo the Wise-Wolf of Yoitsu. This small feat in nothing to me. I can easily kill a human myself. Humans must be easier to kill than I thought, if you can catch one." Holo already began thinking of the place humans are usually in the forest.

Holo went down to a clearly marked road a ways away from her home. There, she hid within the trees surrounding it. Her trained ears listened for any sounds that might be made by her prey. Unknown to her, though, the nearby town had shut its gates, reducing the traffic on the road to almost none.

"Where are those humans? In this area, they should be more common than ants," Holo thought. Eventually, Holo had to go down to the stream to get a drink.

Downstream, only barely visible to her eyes, was a figure. The wolf sneaked towards it, hoping it would be a human. To her dismay, it was just a deer. Suddenly, a hunter jumped out of hiding and killed the deer with his dagger.

This surprised Holo, as she was used to detecting everything around her. Surprise turned into interest as she wanted to know what kind of being could have outwitted her. She stalked the human from a large distance, forgetting about killing him. The human led Holo back to his campsite. There, the human made sure not to waste any part of his kill, which Holo noted as uncharacteristic for his species. Holo wondered what a human would be doing living outside of a town.

When the human went to sleep, Holo did not think of attacking him. Instead, she went to sleep as well.

Holo spent the next day observing the human. "I am learning more about my prey," she assured herself, "To better kill it." Although Holo had seen humans before, this one was different. The way he hunted was surprising, yet familiar to the wolf. The human's sense were definitely stronger than those of non-wolves. At times, the human surprised Holo by finding prey that even she did not notice. "I am only focused the human; that is why I did not notice the deer," she told herself. The human would stalk his prey, much like how Holo was. With the skills of a great hunter, the human did not make a single sound while following his prey.

Holo had seen how humans fight. Sloppily, they would swing their swords their target, hoping to hurt it. This caused non-life-threatening wounds that only caused pain to the victim, as well as a chance to fight back. This one was different, though. This human would attack his target, and it would die almost instantly and painlessly.

Over the period of less than a day, Holo had learned much about her 'prey'. Although she denied it, Holo developed a respect for the human and his wolf-like ways of hunting, but she remembered her original goal. "I must kill you and show Aayai that I am a better hunter," she thought. With more care than she would would use for any other being, the wolf slowly closed the distance between her and the human. She readied her stance, anticipating for the perfect moment to pounce on her prey. The moment came and Holo's mind screamed for her to attack... but she didn't. The human looked directly at Holo's location and she immediately ran away.

"Why did I hesitate? Why did I not attack the human? What did he do to me?" she asked herself as she ran back to her den.

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Gemralts: Well, that's the end of chapter one! Hopefully, I'll post the next chapter up soon, but probably not. R & R!


	2. Chapter 2

Gemralts: Here's chapter 2, right on time!

Prim: Yay! I get a nice little part in this chapter. :D

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Instead of characteristically jumping for joy, Prim stayed even more still than she was before, careful not to underestimate the older wolf. For an eternity, at least for the thief, she stayed perfectly still. Finally, Prim rushed into the den, making sure not to be seen by any other beings that could have been around her.

Sadly for the wolf, the den seemed completely devoid of any ancient artifacts. Resisting the urge to ransack the elder's home, Prim looked in all the places a piece of parchment could be hidden, making sure to keep everything as she had found it. After hours of searching, Prim found her prize in the smallest and most hidden crack in the cave.

"I only need to get out," the white wolf thought happily. Then, her ears caught the sound of the elder coming back to his home. Knowing that she could not leave without being caught, the wolf started panicking. When the old wolf entered his den, Prim had the great idea of staying still and pretending she wasn't there. When the elder passed by Prim, she even held her breath. Luckily for her, the old wolf didn't notice Prim and fell asleep directly afterward.

After saying a quiet "goodnight" Prim sneaked towards her own home, now with the parchment she had wanted.

"Well, here's a problem," Prim said to no one as she sat in her house, "I can't read this human text... But, I won't quit now!"

After one of her past expeditions to learn about humans, Prim had found a secret entrance into their walled city. Through this tunnel, Prim crawled into the heart of the city, unnoticed by any human. Her target was the building where humans supposedly kept their knowledge. The only clue the wolf had was that said building had many pieces of rolled up parchment. The stubborn wolf looked all around the human settlement, while at the same time remaining out of sight under the cover of night.

Once she found the building of knowledge, Prim randomly unrolled parchments. Luckily for her, she had uncovered an illustrated reference of wolf behaviors. Then, she noticed a part of the manuscript from the elder's den that had many of the words found in the reference.

Doing the actions the words referenced to, Prim started an ancient wolven ritual. The final word of the paragraph she was reading showed a picture of a wolf lapping the blood of a fresh kill. Following the directions blindly, Prim went back into the woods with her parchments and killed a small rabbit. Of course, she said sorry right before it died. Drinking its blood, Prim felt her body become more fragile. Suddenly, she felt the need to walk on two feet. Feeling the taste of dry blood in her mouth, Prim walked to a small lake to drink. In the water, she saw a human with white wolf-like ears. Thinking for a bit, Prim realized she had turned herself into a young human.

"Well, that was definitely worth the trouble," Prim said, liking the sound of her new voice. "Now, how do I turn back into a wolf?"

Malik had woken up to another day living away from society. However, the events of the day before still troubled his mind. Malik's instincts had told him someone was following him. When he looked back, he was sure that that someone had ran away when he acknowledged its existence, but he was still human and it could have just been paranoia bugging his mind. Malik assumed that it was just his loneliness that was getting to him. The life of a hunter was a hard one, but it was his life, after all.

Malik cooked some of the meat from the day before for breakfast before going for a morning walk. The human found it funny that a hunter would take the time to notice the beauty of the forest. However, Malik would sometimes step back and sense the peacefulness of the surroundings in which he hunted in.

The hunter didn't think of himself as a cold-blooded killer, but more of just another part of the forest, doing his part to keep things going smoothly. By hunting, Malik was teaching his prey to be more strong and clever for future generations. He admired the wolves for their ability to hunt, and based his techniques on what he had observed them do.

Along his walk in the forest, Malik gathered various edible berries and plants to supplement his meat-filled diet. The wolves' ability to live solely on meat was another trait that he admired about the animals. When he was younger, in fact, he tried just that, with negative consequences.

After stowing his gathered foods, Malik went back to his encampment to prepare for his hunt. With his dagger, Malik started looking for his prey. Malik heard the sound of the forest floor being stepped on by an animal. With the experience of a wolf, Malik inched towards the cause of the sound. Expecting to find a large prey animal, the human instead found a bear. Unlike most bears the Malik had seen, this particular bear was both large and bloodstained. The look in its eyes told Malik not to mess with it.

As if set by fate, a large tree branch fell right behind Malik, attracting the bear's attention towards the human's direction. With no way to escape, Malik decided his only option was to fight his foe, no matter how hopeless it may have seen. Using his fighting experience, Malik was able to dodge the bear's initial charge, causing it to hit itself headfirst into the branch. Knowing that his only hope was to not get hit by the awesome creature, Malik dodged its every attempt at hurting him while at the same time getting some of his own shots in. Unfortunately, Malik knew that he would eventually make some mistake that will cost him his life.

Holo, who was watching Malik again, found herself in a conflict. "Do I help him?" she asked herself, "Or do I not take the risk?" This particular human had already proved himself unique to Holo, but the human's cunning in being able to last in a fight against a bear convinced her that this human was worth helping.

While the bear had its back turned to the wolf, Holo jumped in and bit its leg before getting back to a safe distance. Malik, now with time to think while the bear was being distracted by Holo, was surprised that a wolf would blatantly attack a bear by itself, unless it had a motive of some sort. Said wolf was unlike other wolves he had seen, as Malik noted that this wolf was using advanced tactics that no animal could be able to think of.

Relying on this, Malik attacked the bear again, hoping the wolf would understand his strategy. The furious bear returned its attention back to Malik for an instant, before being bit by Holo again. By confusing the bear, Holo and Malik were able to damage it enough to cause it to retreat away.

After the threat was over, Malik looked questioningly at the wolf that helped him. "Why did you help me, hunter?" he asked, half-expecting an answer.

Holo, able to understand humans, but unable to communicate with them, was at a loss of words. Instead, she walked slowly towards the human, making sure that he knew that she meant no harm towards him. The 'wise-wolf' sat herself down in front of the human, not sure what to do next.

Malik saw the wolf walk towards him, not as if ready to pounce, but somehow Malik knew that this wolf did not want to hurt him. Even more surprisingly, the wolf just sat in front of him, maybe expecting for him to do something. Hesitantly, Malik reached his arm out to the wolf. Seeing no protest from the hunter, Malik pet the wolf's head.

Holo liked the feeling of the human's hand petting her head, though she did not admit it. However, it was obvious that her tail was waving quickly back and forth.

"Thank you," said Malik, before he started walking back to his camp. Holo followed him, though she did not know why. Turning around, Malik asked "You would like to stay with me, hunter?"

Malik thought he saw the wolf nodding yes.

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Gemralts: R & R!


	3. Chapter 3

Gemralts: Yes, I did not die on 12/21, and here is your new chapter!

Prim: *reads and blushes* You've gotta be kidding me.

Gemralts: Oh Prim, only caring about the parts that include you. XD

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"What am I doing?" Holo thought, "Just a few days ago I was planning on killing this human... but, now, I'm following him back to his camp!" Internally, she accepted that she thought of the human as her equal.

The wolf's lies were falling apart around her. She had no excuse to why she was following this human around. "This may be the perfect moment to strike, yet I choose not to do so... why?"

Holo's thought were interrupted by the pair's arrival at Malik's forest home. Now that Holo was not focused on spying on the human, she quickly took in the details of the human's campsite. For human standards, the wolf noted, this dwelling only contained a bare minimum. Malik had a small fire-pit and some bags containing various items to survive in the forest.

"This is my— our home," Malik said, "It is not much, but it is enough to live by." Malik looked at his companion. "Why is this wolf here?" he thought, "This hunter has chosen to live with me. Ha! I should be honored."

Holo heard the footsteps of an elk nearby. Instead of doing her normal hunting routine, though, the wolf decided to tell the human about the animal. She put herself into a hunting pose so that her companion would be able to see. Quickly, Malik got the hint and also heard, with great difficulty, the sound of the elk. Holo led the human towards the location of their prey, again noticing how he was able to keep just as quiet and hidden as any wolf. Holo soon was able to see her prize. Malik, however, was unable to see whatever his companion was looking at, so they kept moving closer.

Once Malik could see the elk, the two hunters had to make a plan to get it. Both knew that they would be able to kill it without the other, but they also knew having help would greatly decrease the chance of their prey getting away. It was easier said than done, however. The human and the wolf had no direct way of communicating with one another.

Taking from her usual hunting techniques with other wolves, Holo ran into her prey, purposely knocking it towards a location with little escape routes. There, she intimidated her prey, hoping it would not fight back. She stood there, expecting Malik to jump in behind it.

The human had a hard time struggling to understand what his wolven companion was doing. After a moment of thought, the human understood what to do and burst in behind their prey.

Instead of freezing in fear like Malik expected, though, the elk just got spooked and ran into Holo. The poor wolf was unable to dodge and got hit by the one of the large beast's antlers. Although Holo didn't admit it, she was not invincible. She saw the blood dripping out of the wound, but the wolf didn't blame the human. After all, she herself thought the plan would have worked.

The wolf felt her consciousness slipping away and started to black out...

* * *

Prim happily walked around in her new human body, tripping here and there. She was getting used to her new form. The wolf-turned-human just walked in circles around the lake. If a human saw her, it must have looked crazy, a naked girl going about her day in the forest, as if she was a _wolf. _

Prim noticed someone in the corner of her eye. It was a human, around the same age as Prim's human appearance. "My lucky day," she thought, laughing. The human stood still, confusing the wolf. When she got closer, Prim also noticed him speaking some kind of gibberish. Ignoring it, she said, "Hi! My name is Prim! Nice to meetcha!"

"Y- you have a tail," the human simply muttered.

The wolf looked back at said appendage. "Yeah, I was also surprised it wasn't some wild animal," Prim laughed.

The human paused for a little longer. "Are you a goddess of some sort?" he asked timidly.

"Uhh, I'm a wolf— er, maybe I'm a human? I know! Imma wolf-human. Or, maybe, a human-wolf. Or a werewolf," Prim rambled on.

Interrupting, the human said, "Hello, Prim, my name is Farceet. It must be an honor be in your presence... I think."

"Thanks!" Prim looked at Farceet. "Hmm, I think I'm missing something." The wolf-human tapped her foot for a moment. "Oh! I'm not wearing clothes," Prim thought aloud, causing the human to blush.

"I have some clothes in my home I think I can let you borrow," Farceet offered, "But, we have to sneak into the town."

"Pshh, I sneak into the town all the time," she said. "But... I'm usually in wolf form," Prim added in her mind.

Farceet led her into yet another secret passageway into the walled town. This one, she noted, was just barely big enough to fit two humans inside. Some portions went underground and had no lights, so she had to stay close to her guide. She thought nothing of it, but the male became even more uncomfortable, if that was even possible.

The two eventually came into a hidden underground room in the city. "This is where I live," the young man said sorrowfully. Farceet dug through various pieces of junk he had collected over the years. He found an outfit some lady had thrown out a while ago. Back then, he didn't know what to do with it, but he felt a need to keep it. "Take this," he said.

Prim took the clothes and just stood there. After a moment's pause, she asked innocently, "I don't know how to put these on. Can you help me?"

"O- okay," the human stuttered. After some struggling trying to get Prim to understand the simple human task, Farceet was able to get the wolf fully dressed. "I must say, the bright colors fit you so well."

Prim smiled. "Thank y—" her complement was cut short when she noticed a bright object "Shiny," she said wide eyed, as she took the trinket.

Farceet looked at the simple metal bracelet. "That was my mother's before she... passed away."

"Oh," Prim said simply, starting to put it back.

The human interrupted, "No, no, I think she would have wanted you to wear it, better than just sitting there gathering dust."

Slowly putting the bracelet on, Prim asked, "What happened to her?"

Farceet looked down. "She walked into the forest one day and never came back."

* * *

Holo felt like she was in a void. She tried to move, but she couldn't. She tried to yell, but she couldn't. For a long time, a second or an eternity, she had no way to know for sure, nothing happened. A picture of a wolf appeared in the void. Holo wanted to ask it for help, but she could do nothing. Then, a picture of a human appeared, that of the hunter. He seemed to be holding out his hand to her. Suddenly, Holo was able to move. She immediately sprinted towards Malik, leaving the wolf behind.

Holo struggled to open her eyes. She saw a tall figure looking over her. Trying to keep them open, Holo saw that it was the hunter.

"Try not to use too much energy," Malik said, forgetting that he thought the wolf couldn't understand him. "Even though you heal faster than anything I've seen before, I don't want your injury getting worse."

Holo noticed that the human had wrapped a makeshift bandage around her wound, something that any other animal could not have done. For that, she was grateful. "Thank you, human," she thought before going back to sleep.

Malik looked at his wolven companion. He hoped that the wolf would be able to live through its major wound. However, he did not think it would be able to be as strong as it was before. The hunter felt a pang of guilt from his part in hurting his new-found friend and savior. He thought of how the great hunter was reduced to needing the help of a human. The human did everything short of blaming himself for what had happened to the wolf.

Malik kept silent vigil on Holo as she recovered. When she occasionally woke up, he gave her food and water to keep up what little strength she had. He left only when he needed to get more supplies for the wolf. The human thought his companion was recovering faster each day.

Finally, Holo had enough strength to stay awake with the human. The two sat there in silence, contemplating about the other. Holo, grateful for the help of the human. And Malik, full of guilt from harming the wolf.

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Gemralts: Well, that got depressing. R & R!


End file.
